The Tuzu Gesar Epic: Performance and Singers

Abstract

The Tuzu Gesar Epic:Performance and Singers Wang Guoming (bio) Translated by Li Xianting Click for larger view View full resolution Wang Yongfu performing the Tuzu Gesar. Photo by Wang Guoming. The Uniqueness of the Tuzu Gesar Different minority groups have different versions of the Gesar epic. Their respective forms differ from the Tibetan version in content, structure, characters, events, and actual performances. This kind of variety is common in Asian oral epic traditions. The Tu people are a unique minority who reside in northwest China with a total population of 200,000. The Gesar epic of this group is found mainly in Tu communities in Gansu and Qinghai provinces. The Tuzu Gesar is performed as a combination of verse and prose. It also shows some differences from the Anduo dialects of Tibetan. As a result of phonetic changes, the Tuzu Gesar has its own structure and follows strict procedures and performance rules. Many native scholars and experts have studied this tradition. Click for larger view View full resolution For a long time, the Gesar epic performances have mixed stories, myths, proverbs, and quotations through the medium of prose and verse, as well as combinations of chanting and recitative. The Tu people have no written language, and more and more performers are passing away. Currently Wang Yongfu, who is 79 years old and lives in the Zhucha village, Tiantang town, in Tianzhu, is the only performer in China who can sing the entire Tuzu Gesar epic. The Combination of Verse and Prose Because Tuzu is a spoken language with no written system, the Tuzu Gesar is unique in its pattern and content. When performed, the verse sections are sung in Tibetan, and there is no limit on the order of rhymes and lines. After the Tibetan exposition, the performer then interprets the epic in the Tu language. Instead of explaining the action literally, he adds ancient Tuzu cultural stories, uniting the bilingual presentation. To represent the linguistic makeup of this material, I have adopted the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA) to make a complete and scientific record of the Tuzu Gesar, and have translated the result to both the Tibetan and the Mandarin languages. As for the prose part, I have recorded the sounds in IPA and translated it word-for-word into Mandarin. This process preserved the materials in original and scientifically sound form. In this way, the Tuzu Gesar is presented as a multi-ethnic production with rich Tu cultural characteristics. It reflects the great influence of the Tibetan Gesar on other ethnicities, and foregrounds and clarifies its unique content and pattern. The Tuzu Gesar fully illustrates the Tu people's creativity in dialogue with other ethnic cultures. How did the Tuzu Gesar develop its current performative pattern? There are two explanations. First, the Tu are a unique minority in northwest China. For centuries, they frequently communicated with other groups, including the Han, Tibetan, Hui, and Mongolian peoples. The Tu have been significantly influenced by other ethnic groups, and not only by their languages but also, to varying extents, by their customs, religion, literatures, and arts—especially by Tibetans. Tuzu folk literature consists mainly of various special myths, legends, folktales, narratives, ballads, proverbs, and fables, all of which are depictions of Tu social history. These have been passed down through oral performance, and the Tuzu Gesar is the most representative of the overall cultural heritage. Second, when initially introduced into the Tu area, the Tuzu Gesar was much the same as the Tibetan version, with verse and prose portions performed in Tibetan. In most cases, when an ethnic culture is introduced to other areas and peoples, it is changed and transformed by the folk performers who adapt it to their daily life, basic concepts, social environment, and aesthetic needs. In this way the transformed cultural product is appreciated for generations. Tu epic performers have imported Gesar into a mother-tongue tradition. Keeping the original Tibetan verses, the performers also added native heroic stories and other content with Tu cultural characteristics. Under such circumstances, the Tuzu Gesar circulated throughout the Tu area, and a Gesar version with unique characteristics developed and was passed down to the current era with its...